The corridor split the dark like a tear in a curtain, its edge rippling with silent malice.
Helios stepped out into a realm between. The air was still, the color of endless night. All around him, shattered fragments of starlight floated in slow motion—broken remnants of forgotten places, hanging in the void like suspended dreams.
His shoes touched the ground, turning it into a cracked, crystalline floor underneath his feet. Helios looked up at the sky and felt no wind—just weightless silence.
The shadows still clung to his body, like a second skin. It felt comfortable, but at the same time, it also felt like trying to breathe through ash.
"Deactivate," Helios muttered.
Nothing happened.
His hands clenched.
Again, he focused—deep breath, pushing light through his limbs, commanding the darkness to withdraw.
It resisted.
His body pulsed with shadows like a second skin. The form—his darkness—wanted to stay. To remain free. He could feel it in the way the abyss curled along his spine, in the way his thoughts came a little slower, a little colder.
Finally, with a crackle of strained willpower, the dark outer skin broke apart into ribbons of void and peeled away from his form. The particles then drifted before floating back into Helios' body.
Helios stood still, breathing heavily, hands flexing open and closed. The strain of control lingered.
"That took longer than it should've," he muttered.
"Why are we in this world?" The voice came from nowhere—and everywhere. Not from outside, but inside. A low, inhuman resonance vibrating through his skull like an echo from something hollow. It seemed like Kurai had returned along with his darkness.
Helios blinked slowly, then gave a crooked smirk. "Well, good morning to you too. How have you been? Did you miss me?"
"I don't understand why you waste time asking questions you must know the answer to already. Now answer the question."
Helios rotated his neck with a soft pop. "Hold on. First things first. You said, last time we spoke, that you might be different next time."
He tilted his head, almost casually. "So… tell me. Did you change? Feel any different?"
"How would I know if I did?" Kurai replied, its tone perfectly flat. "Self-awareness is a human flaw. And I've never pretended to be human. I gave that up a long time ago."
Helios gave a dry laugh. "Then this conversation's going to be just as fun as I hoped."
"Even if I had changed," Kurai continued, "why would I tell you? What benefit is there in making you more comfortable?"
"Still dripping with affection, I see."
"You're wasting more time."
Helios turned to face the edge of the platform, gazing out into the drifting fragments. "I was hoping we'd ease back into things. But fine. Let's skip the pleasantries."
"You never meant them anyway."
He grinned. "Touché."
"You smell different," Kurai said, its tone unreadable. "The darkness inside you has matured. Thickened. It is almost… familiar. Like mine."
Helios' smile didn't fade, but his fingers curled slightly at his sides. "Let's not get sentimental."
"You walk closer to the edge than you did before."
"I've had practice."
"Or weakness."
Helios turned his eyes upward. "You always loved testing your theories through veiled insults."
"I don't need to veil anything," Kurai said. "You overestimate your cleverness. And your belief that you are invincible. At times, you make me wish to test it."
Helios chuckled. "And you're not as all-knowing as you pretend. You only know as much as I do, so stop pretending to be wise. This is why you're only now waking up, asking me to tell you what happened."
That earned a pause.
"… A fair point."
Helios tapped his temple. "You should already know what's going on, but if you're that far behind the curve—fine. Your body. It's been created. Fresh. Clean. Without your oh-so-lovely voice infecting it."
"Is that so?"
"I'm searching for worlds that exist between light and darkness. Transitional realms. Nexus points. Nobodies only appear in these worlds."
"Like the world you stood in before. Traverse Town, correct?"
"Exactly."
"Then why are we here now? I believe this world was called Twilight Town."
"Because I'm in a hurry. This world is a Nexus World, and two Nobodies were created, and I aim to find both. They could be together or in separate worlds, so I'm in a bit of a hurry."
"…There's another one?"
Helios nodded. "Another Nobody was born alongside the shell that'll become your new host. And while you may not care, I do. Both of them are potential pieces on the board—and if I don't find them before he does…"
"Xemnas."
Helios' voice darkened. "Yeah."
A beat passed in silence.
Then—
"Why are you still standing here, then?"
Helios smirked. "There it is. The familiar contempt. I was starting to think you missed me."
"You misunderstand."
"Do I?"
"I don't miss things. I don't feel. I observe."
Helios took a step to the edge of the platform, watching a ripple of starlight pass beneath him. "You know, I used to think your whole 'detached observer' thing was just a mask. That deep down, you had some shard of curiosity. Something that made you want to play this game."
"Play implies amusement. I act to exist. You act to obtain something. We are aligned."
Helios shrugged. "Maybe. But at least I act."
"Recklessly."
He grinned again. "Only when necessary."
Another pause. The silence wasn't tense. It was… habitual. This was how they existed—trading words like blades, always circling, never quite cutting.
"Anyway," Helios said, summoning a Corridor of Darkness beneath his feet. "Let's go check out the hot spots in this world. We'd better hurry I'd hate to have to fight to take these things."
"You shouldn't joke. You sound foolish when you do. Besides, your main concern should be master this new darkness."
Helios looked down at his hand.
Black and purple electricity still sparked at his fingertips.
"I've got it under control. I just need a small period of adjustment," he said. "It's new, so I just lack balance at the moment."
"Then find your balance. Retrieve those bodies before someone else does."
Helios dropped down into the corridor without batting an eye. "Yeah," he muttered. "That's the plan."